My wife is Metis, mostly of Scottish heritage from the Orkney Island area, but there are a few branches of the family from Quebec as well so this is a favorite recipe in most Metis families. Here are a few variations of slightly different Tourtiere recipes and if you're feeling like being adventurous in a culinary way these should keep you busy for a while! Enjoy ...
TOURTIERE
(French Canadian Metis Meat Pies)
This recipe is designed to make four (9 inch) meat pies.
3 lb. ground, very lean pork
3 lb. ground, very lean sirloin
(ask the butcher to grind all the meat once again - it makes it much easier when you're stirring it in the pot.)
Use a pot that is large enough to accommodate all this meat and give you enough room to stir it without meat flying all over the stove top. Put the meat in the pot and set your large burner for the medium to low heat. Don't try to mix the meat until it becomes warm and make sure to add 6 oz. of water into the pot with the meat. Use a large bowl and combine the secret meat pie ingredients listed below:
1 large regular onion (which I put through the food processor - it looks like mush when I'm through with it)
2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/2 t. celery salt
1/2 t. dried parsley
1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. chopped fresh basil
Mix this stuff together in a large bowl and make sure it's all well blended - in other words - stir it a lot!
The pot full of meat is now beginning to cook. Set the temperature at medium and pour in the onion and spice mixture. Start stirring the contents until the meat is cooked and the lumps are gone. The meat pie mixture should be thick with some juice but not too watery. If you feel it's too watery add 1/2 cup of instant mashed potato flakes to thicken. Turn the burner down to low heat for the last 5-10 minutes of cooking and get the pie plates ready. Prepare four 9" pie plates, fill evenly with 1/4 of the meat mixture in each bottom crust, then cover with a top crust. Make sure that you cut 4 slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape while baking. Cook these pies at 350° or until the crust turns a golden brown. Estimated time is about 1 hour.
For freezing Meat Pies:
Wait until the pies are completely cooled and then wrap in foil.
For unthawing and cooking Meat Pies:
Loosen the tinfoil and cook for 1/2 hour at 325°. Remove the tinfoil completely and let pie cook for another 10 minutes.
TORTIERE Recipe
3/4 lb ground pork (or substitute ground bear)
3/4 lb ground beef (or substitute moose or deer)
Small minced onion
2 large potatoes (grated)
2 large carrots (grated)
1/2 cup boiling water
1 clove garlic chopped
1.5 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp sage
1/4 tsp cloves
Brown the meats, then add the water and spices. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the potatos and carrots and cook for about 45 minutes.
Pour the mix into a piecrust and cover with pastry pie top. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees and then for about 30 to 40 minutes more at 350 degrees.
Tourtierre St.Jean (Metis meat pies)
Dice equal parts of Rabbit, or other game meat(s), or pork, and veal. Mix with diced potatoes,and finely diced onions. Dice everything else to about 3/8 inch.
Toss it all in a deep roasting pan (6-8 inches) lined with pie pastry that you've left hanging way over the edges. Add a cup of water white wine etc. lotsa salt and pepper. Fold the pastry over the pie and bake 250 f. for about 4 hours, then turn up heat to brown crust.
Easy Tourtiere
For the lightest pastry, make sure you're working with cold butter and lard, and don't overwork the dough.
Ingredients
• 8 oz button mushrooms, trimmed
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 lb lean ground pork
• 2 tbsp quick-cooking rolled oats, (not instant)
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried savory
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 egg, beaten
Really Flaky Pastry:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/2 cup cold lard, cubed
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp vinegar
• Ice water
Preparation
In a food processor, pulse together mushrooms, onion and garlic until finely chopped. In large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook mushroom mixture, stirring occasionally, until no liquid remains, about 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl; set aside. In same skillet, brown pork, breaking up with spoon, about 8 minutes. Stir in rolled oats, salt, pepper, thyme, savory and cloves. Return mushroom mixture to pan along with 1/3 cup water; cook over medium-low heat, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until almost no liquid remains, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl; cover and refrigerate for 45 minutes. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)
Really Flaky Pastry: Meanwhile, in bowl, whisk flour with salt. Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter and lard until in coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces. In liquid measure, beat egg with vinegar; add enough ice water to make 2/3 cup. Drizzle over flour mixture, tossing with fork until ragged dough forms. Divide in half; press into discs. Wrap each and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes.
Combine egg with 1 tbsp water to make egg wash. On lightly floured surface, roll out 1 of the pastry discs to scant one-inch thickness; fit into 9-inch pie plate. Spoon in filling. Roll out remaining pastry. Brush pie rim with some of the egg wash; cover top with pastry. Trim, leaving 3/4-inch overhang. Gently lift bottom pastry rim and fold overhang under rim; press together to seal. Brush pastry with egg wash; cut steam vents in top. Bake in bottom third of 400º oven until hot and golden brown, about 50 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Classic French Canadian Tourtiere
Ingredients
• 2 lb ground pork
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and grated
• 2 medium onions, minced
• 1-1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp savory
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups dry breadcrumbs
• 1 beaten egg, plus 1 tbsp. water
Preparation
Pastry: Prepare pastry dough for 2 - 9" double crust pies, seasoned with 1/4 tsp tumeric and 1/4 tsp savory. Roll out 1/2 pastry and fit into 9 x 13" rectangular baking dish OR 2 8" pie plates. Chill.
Filling: Place all filling ingredients except bread crumbs and egg in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir to blend. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in enough bread crumbs to absorb all excess moisture. Cool mixture and place in pie shell. Roll out remaining pastry and place on top of meat. Seal upper and lower crust and crimp edges. For added luster, brush pastry with water and egg mixture. Slit the crust well to allow steam to escape. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot with gravy.
Romeo Morin’s Tourtiere
Chop up leftover roast pork and mix it with some leftover mashed potatoes. Chop one onion, brown it in butter, and add to the mix. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Put this in the bottom crust and cover with the top crust. Cut some slits in the top, and bake in a 350º oven for 50-60 minutes, until brown.
Alternatively, you can brown some ground pork, drain the fat and use that as a meat, and that is just as good. Recently, I have sprinkled a bit of Allspice in the mix, and added a little bit of minced garlic.
For another version, which seems to be true to most of the Tourtiere that I have had in restaurants: Put about 2 lbs. of ground pork in a large pan and brown. Then, drain the fat.
Add 1 cup of water
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp. pepper
Simmer for 1/2 hour, stirring often. Remove from heat, and add 3 cups bread crumbs. Mix well and allow to cool. Put it into the pie crust and top with a crust. Bake 30 minutes in a 425º oven. (Chef Louis Baltera, Chateau Frontenac, Quebec)
The following recipe for Stirred Pastry is the crust that I use most often as it is easier to make than a traditional flaky crust, and does not rely on lard, or vegetable shortening (which has unhealthy transfats).
Stirred Pastry
In a bowl, mix together 2 cups flour, 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp. sugar.
In a cup, stir together 1/2 cup salad oil (preferably canola), and 1/4 cup milk.
Pour over the flour, and stir until no dry flour shows.
Divide into 2 balls. Refrigerate if not using immediately. (Cold dough doesn’t stick so readily to everything)
Roll out the dough between two pieces of wax paper, peel off one piece, and flop the other piece, with the crust, over the plate. Then remove the wax paper, so that the dough falls into the pie plate. Fill the crust with the Tourtiere mix and then treat the top crust in the same manner.